Second Patriarch: Rise Of The Liu Clan

Blue Mount City was bigger than Vermilion City, but they were largely similar in makeup. Due to the short distance between them there wasn't a major difference in local specialties or industries, mainly just who owned what. As Liu Zhu went through the city he noticed that while there were quite a few shops owned by the Ji family, there were also some owned by other similarly large family clans, and in one case a major family. This made it clear to Liu Zhu that while the Ji family considered Blue Mount City a main base of theirs, they must have had holdings somewhere else in order to grow to their current size. Either that, or they had investments in some industry he wasn't aware of. This was unlike the Liu Clan, who relied almost solely on shops in Vermilion City and Zhu Chao's efforts to bring in money.

Several hours passed as Liu Zhu traveled down the densely packed streets of the city center, and eventually he found an expensive looking clothing shop and decided to purchase something there. He didn't know what gift Ji Quxin would like, but most women liked beautiful clothes, so that was probably a safe bet. Hell, even his brother liked beautiful clothes, so he supposed the sentiment wasn't gender specific. Feeling increasingly confident that this was a good idea Liu Zhu went inside and settled on a dress worth 30 gold coins and some change. Liu Zhu would've never spent this much on a gift before, but now that he had a reliable source of income and hundreds of gold on hand, he didn't mind it. After all, even if he was unhappy about the situation it'd be best to make a good first impression.

Once Liu Zhu bought his gift he looked around the city a bit more, but didn't find much of note. There were a few old statues, but most of them were dedicated to figures Liu Zhu hadn't heard of and which he currently didn't have time to learn about. He ended up returning to the Ji family's estate with plenty of time left before dinner.

When Liu Zhu returned, his brother was once again drinking, but this time with a woman. She looked to be somewhere between 16 and 18, the same age range as Liu Xuan, and was also drinking. As Liu Zhu entered the room the two threw a glance at him, and a smile showed up on Liu Xuan's reddish face. "Little brother, you're back! This is my fiancée, Ji Quxin!" As he said this the woman waved towards Liu Zhu, a smile on her face. "You're Xu'er's brother? It's nice to meet you."

The two shook hands and introduced themselves. After that the three chatted, Liu Xuan dominating the conversation while Ji Quxin and Liu Zhu mostly kept to themselves. Liu Zhu tried to analyze Ji Quxin as they spoke, curious about what kind of person would want to marry his brother and whether they had any odd tendencies of their own. He wasn't able to glean much though, and only saw what he already knew- that she was a lady from a large family clan, and that she lived up to the position.

Liu Zhu had dinner with his older brother and a few members of the Ji family, and the conversation was mostly pleasant. Oddly enough, in the middle of the meal Ji Quxin seemed to hint towards setting him up with a minor member of the Ji family, putting Liu Zhu in an awkward position. After some consideration he simply decided to ignore the odd behavior and pretend not to notice her hints. If he acknowledged what she was saying then he'd have to directly turn her down, and that would only cause trouble. Once the meal was over Liu Zhu decided to stay in the Ji family for a week or two in order to make sure nothing odd was going on with his older brother. The engagement was rather sudden, so he had a nagging feeling that he should stay and make sure everything was normal.

Five days after arriving at the Ji family's estate Liu Zhu broke through to Late Flesh Tempering, prompting his brother to once again invite him out for a round of drinks. This offer was declined, but after a fierce round of negotiation Liu Zhu managed to bring it around to a meal out, no alcohol provided. After making his breakthrough he received a brief congratulations from Ji Quxin, but since they barely knew each other that was it. Liu Zhu observed his brother for another six days following this, but didn't see anything particularly odd. He did notice that his brother never seemed to be alone, and always had someone with him when he left the estate, but... that wasn't very odd. People like him made friends quickly, and it would be natural for the Ji family to be watching him. Liu Zhu did something similar because he was worried about his brother doing something stupid, so it'd be normal if the Ji family was similarly worried, especially since he was half a stranger to them.

After spending 11 days at the Ji family Liu Zhu figured that he'd seen all there was and said goodbye to his brother before making his way back to Vermilion City.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Ji family's estate:

Ji Quxin sat in her room, slowly sipping from a glass of mead. As she did so she wrote a letter, occasionally stopping to think what to write. While writing, the door opened and Liu Xuan entered. "Qu'er, I'm back!" "Your brother is gone then?" Liu Xuan nodded, taking a seat. "Yes, he left just now." "Still not interested in marrying into the Ji family?" Liu Xuan nodded again, a perplexed look on his face. "No, he wasn't. Why were you pushing for that anyways?" Ji Quxin shrugged. "No big reason- there are a few people under me who were looking to wed someone, and I figured it'd help tie our families even closer. It'd be nice if it happens, but it's fine if it doesn't." Liu Xuan let out a quiet "Ah." after hearing this, seemingly understanding.

The two chatted for a bit before Ji Quxin asked Liu Xuan to leave the room, claiming that she wanted to rest for a bit. After Liu Xuan let out a cheerful goodbye Ji Quxin waited a moment and peeked out the door, making sure he was gone. After confirming nobody was nearby Ji Quxin closed and locked the door, taking a seat on a couch and loudly groaning. "F.u.c.k, what am I going to do about this. They said his brother wasn't worth worrying about, but his cultivation is higher than those incompetent halfwits told me..." After a short pause Ji Quxin grabbed a quill and resumed writing. "Whatever. It's worse than I thought, but Liu Xuan should still get the position. Still, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get some chess pieces in place. It'd be preferable that I don't need to go that far, but I need the Liu Clan if I'm going to win the succession race. I can't afford to have my plans ruined now."